Assembling the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field of economic development, Theories of Local Economic Development places state-of-the-art theoretical positions on such important issues as inner-city development, rural development, technological innovation, and rebuilding economic infrastructure. To accomplish this task, the contributors skillfully incorporate illustrative case material. Chapters draw on the disciplines of economics, geography, regional science, urban planning, sociology, political science, and public administration. The pivotal assumption behind this book is that research should and can lead to general statements about economic development. As a result, scholars of economics and public finance, public administration, political science, urban studies, policy studies, and development studies will appreciate this invaluable resource. "Bingham and Mier have compiled an interesting study of local economic development in the United States by bringing together a series of papers that review aspects of economic growth from across a range of methodological perspectives. . . . The study is to be recommended to anyone wishing to gain a general understanding of current theoretical debate in the United States to economic development and may provide readers with some useful ideas on possible methodological approaches to understanding economic development in Britain." --Local Government Studies "The individual contributions are generally sound, well-written reviews of the various theories relating to their particular subject areas . . . The study is designed to have a common theme of reviewing problems and succeeds in its aim by providing a far more consistent study than many other collections of papers. The study is, therefore, to be recommended to anyone wishing to gain a general understanding of current theoretical debate in the United States and may provide readers with some useful ideas on possible methodological approaches to understanding economic development in Britain." --Local Government Studies